
Baking It: Sherrie-Ann Turton’s journey into Cake Business
Originally Published Barbados Advocate September 25, 2016
Sometimes you have to travel the road less traveled. For Sherrie-Ann Turton, baker and caterer, the path she took lead to entrepreneurship and allowed her to develop her creative skills well beyond a level she ever expected.
Three years ago, Sherrie Ann gave up her regular 9–5 job to pursue a career in baking and catering. Before quitting her accounting job in the civil service, she admitted that she had talk with her parents about her decision and it was not well received.
“I was fed up with doing the accounts. So I told my parents that I can do this (baking) full time and they were adamant that I have 9 to 5 job and I said no. I just quit and I started slow and it build up from there,” said Sherrie-ann.
The former Erdiston Primary and Christ Church Foundation student said she always had an interest in art and did the subject up to secondary school level however she would not consider herself an artist. Later, she attended the Barbados Community College where she studied languages with the hopes of becoming an interpreter. Sherrie-ann still trying to find her path, continued her education at the University of the West Indies where she pursued a degree in Hotel management in The Bahamas. As to how she got into the kitchen, Sherrie-ann credits her father who had basic training in the baking.
“My dad bakes, he went to a cooking course, he did pastries and stuff like that. He cooks everyday. I was always in the kitchen when he was there”, said Sherrie-Ann.
One of the most interesting facts about Sherrie-Ann’s journey is how she learned her professional baking skills. Following some of the work of the latest bakers internationally, Sherrie-ann’s artistic cakes are of a high quality. However, she admitted that she has received no professional training in baking and cake decorating.
“I was working in a government job doing accounts…and I said I would sell pastries and then persons asked me to do cakes, I never done cakes before. Then I said I would give it a shot, I watched a few Youtube videos and it went from there. I was never taught how to roll fondant,” said Sherrie-Ann.
Sherrie-ann said that people who want fondant decorated cakes often are not aware of the high cost of making the final product. She explained that a box of the fondant which is often the type of icing requested for cakes is very expensive. Earlier in baking career, she found it difficult to obtain the various baking supplies but as demand increased, supplies are more readily available and this is no longer a challenge for her business.
Sherrie-ann has her hands full with baking, running her business “The Catering Club”, giving cake classes and taking care of her five year old daughter, Saniya who said gives her creative feedback on her cakes. Relying on the positive feedback of her clients, Sherrie-ann who operates the business on her own, promotes her cake creations on Instagram. Her growth as a baker and entrepreneur is a testament to the fact that in life you can take a leap, try new things and succeed.
THE END
Captioned photo: Baker and caterer, Sherrie-ann Turton with one of her cake creations, A LEGO character cakes.
